


It could have turned out differently, I suppose (But it didn't)

by Wherethereissmoak



Series: Julie's Summer 2017 Hiatus Fics [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Felicity's brain is a super power, Mentions of Suicide, Meta human, felicity saves the day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 08:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11226783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wherethereissmoak/pseuds/Wherethereissmoak
Summary: Written for the Olicity Hiatus Fic-a-thon prompt "at odds." (and yes the title to this fic came from Jane Austen)Team Arrow and Flash are whammied by a meta-human that gives visions of how happy their lives, and the lives of their friends and families would be if only they had made different choices. He may have met his match when he  encounters one Felicity Meghan Smoak.





	It could have turned out differently, I suppose (But it didn't)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this one is a little weird and dark for me. But I followed this plot bunny down it's rabbit hole. I have no beta and wild and crazy children - so I apologize for any mistakes.

_~You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain! – James Tiberious Kirk ~_

Felicity looked around the room at her friends, all in the fetal position, crying. The meta human – “The Heartbreaker,” as Cisco dubbed him, stepped over their bodies as he stalked toward Felicity.

“Choices. Human existence is made up of millions of choices. Left or right. What college? Who to date? Fight or flight? And with those choices comes another plague to humankind – regret. Did we make the right choice? What would life be like if we had chosen differently?”

While he gave his villainy monologue (why did villains always do that, she wondered), Felicity surveyed the room for an exit. Or some way she could get ahold of Oliver.

“You humans are always at odds with yourself, and I simply use that to my advantage,” Heartbreaker said as he stopped a few feet from her.

Felicity was at odds with herself alright – part of her hoped Oliver would come rescue them, but another part of her wanted him nowhere near this monster. They had discovered this meta human after tracking a series of many suicides popped up throughout Central City and Star City. Team Flash and Arrow joined together to discover and hunt “The Heartbreaker” – a metahuman who touch people and made them see what life would be like if they had made different choices.

But this was no “It’s a Wonderful Life” kind of deal – the visions showed how happy your life would be if you made different choices. And what was worse – how happier your friends and family would be if you had just chosen differently. It was enough to make even the strongest man or woman buckle under the weight of regret and sadness.

Felicity looked at Barry, who was staring catatonically and rocking back and forth. He had probably the worst regrets in this room due to Flashpoint and she didn’t know how they would bring him back from this. She didn’t want the man she loved to encounter this meta, because if anyone was a poster child for wallowing in regrets, it was Oliver Queen. Still, she knew he and Digg were on their way, so she figured she should stall this meta until they arrived. If he was focused on her, then they would be able to surprise him from behind.

Which meant she had to sacrifice herself. Felicity ran her thumb over the band of the engagement ring that had recently found its way back to her finger. She would stay strong. She would survive this.

“Okay, jerkwad – give me your best shot!” The Heartbreaker sneered at her before reaching out and grabbing her arm. The moment their skin made contact, images flashed through Felicity’s mind. It was like she was there.

_She was back in her house in Vegas, and a little girl again. She was so well behaved, she never got into her daddy’s computer stuff. And he stayed. Because she was a good girl, he stayed. Daddy and Mommy were happy. He took her to the daddy/daughter dance. They built electronics together. She won the science fair, and Daddy took her for ice cream. Daddy came to her graduation. He was so proud. He and mom helped her move to MIT and they sat in the front row of her graduation. She and her father built a tech empire together. Everyone was so happy. Felicity had never seen her mom smile so much._

Felicity ran her thumb over the ring again. No, no, this wasn’t real. Another scene flashed in front of her.

_She had stood up to Cooper and made him shut down the computer program and not hack the student loan system. She destroyed the virus. Cooper was mad at her, even broke up with her, but he had graduated with honors, met a wonderful woman and started a family. There was no jail time, no faked death, no time as a villain, no sacrificing himself after working with Damian Dahrk. He lived a long and healthy life after Felicity stopped him from being a hacktivist._

Sadness filled Felicity’s heart, but she steadied herself once again by rubbing her ring. The Heartbreaker growled in frustration.

_Felicity miraculously found a way to reroute the missile away from all human population. They were safe. Havenrock was safe. Rory’s family lived. Everyone lived. Their happy and long lives flashed in front of her eyes, one by one._

Each smile from the Havenrock victims tore at Felicity’s soul. Her breathing started to escalate – the sign that she was getting close to a panic attack. She narrowed her eyes at The Heartbreaker as he smiled with glee. In desperation, she rubbed the ring again and was able to calm her breathing. Oliver would be here soon. The Heartbreaker squeezed her arm harder in frustration that he had not broken her yet. He hit her with flash after flash in the one area that caused her so much regret, chipping away at the talisman she clung to – her relationship with Oliver.

_After Russia, she called bullshit on his “I can’t be with someone I could really care about” statement and convinced him that it was ridiculous. The two of them started dating, got married and had a long and happy life together._

_After Slade, on the beach, instead of saying they were “unthinkable,” they told each other how they really felt. They started dating, got married and had a long and happy life together._

_After their first date, when Oliver pushed her aside, kissing her and asking her not to say that he doesn’t love her. She didn’t accept it. She threatened to quit Team Arrow because she could no longer be in the friend zone, not after she knew how he felt. Oliver had come to his senses and they had gotten together sooner. They were happy. They were in love. He smiled so much._

_They were in Ivy Town, she had not stayed in touch and helped with Team Arrow business while they were away. When Laurel and Thea came, they helped defeat Damian Dahrk and then had returned to their home in the suburbs. They got married. They had a beautiful daughter._

Felicity’s heart stalled at the sight of a blue-eyed toddler with Oliver’s dimples smiling up at her.

_They were in the loft apartment, she had just seen Oliver make his video for William. She did not break up with him. They had a big fight, but eventually worked it out. When she took her first steps out of her wheelchair, it was into Oliver’s arms. A month later, she walked toward him down the aisle at their wedding._

Felicity’s was struggling to breathe with the weight of everything bearing down on her. She saw Digg and Oliver enter the room and survey the damage, but was determined not to let The Heartbreaker know they were there.

_She was in a bar, drowning her sorrows after a particularly bad Havenrock nightmare. Billy Malone was there. He asked her out. She said no. She reconciled with Oliver a week later. Billy soon got a better job offer out of town. He lived – having never encountered Prometheus or the Green Arrow at all._

_She was on Lian Yu, Oliver was telling them that they had to get off the island while he dealed with Chase and rescued his son. She argued that they should stick together and won. Malcolm did not step on a landmine and lived. Thea suckered punched Chase while he was taunting Oliver in the temple. Felicity discovered the bomb trigger on his chest and disabled it. Oliver found William on the boat and reunited him with his mother. Who lived. Samantha was alive and the entire team made it off the island. Lance was alive. Curtis was alive. All those people were alive and happy since she just made a different choice._

Tears were streaming down Felicity’s face and she couldn’t breathe. She dropped to her knees on the floor. “No, no, no, no. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she cried. Suddenly, the visions stopped as Oliver hit the meta human from behind. The Heartbreaker fell the ground, but was still laughing.

“It doesn’t matter if you lock me up – it’s too late! Look at your friends. Look at her. You will never get them back.”

Diggle punched the man again, and using gloves so they couldn’t make skin contact, put him in handcuffs. Oliver knelt beside Felicity and tried to pull her into his arms to give her comfort while she was sobbing, but she pulled away.

“Please Felicity, I don’t know what he showed you, but it wasn’t real,” Oliver pleaded. He grabbed her hand and he felt his fingers around her engagement ring. And once again, her talisman grounded her.

“See? You’ve lost her!”

“NO!” Felicity shouted, standing up.

“What are you doing? I broke you!” The Heartbreaker screamed. “You should not be able to even talk right now!”

“It’s not real! Any of it! None of these outcomes would have happened if we had made different choices. My parents probably would not have been happy if they stayed together. I was a child, it wasn’t my fault. Cooper would have found another way to hack. The bomb that hit Havenrock would have taken out millions if I made a different choice. Billy was a police officer, he risked his life every day. And Oliver? He and I have a lot of regrets about our relationship but we are always led back to each other. We needed to be apart so we could grow back together.”

She flashed her engagement ring at the meta, who snarled at her. Oliver reached out and grabbed her hand, smiling with pride.

“I need my bad choices – they helped shape me into the person I am today.” She smiled at Oliver. “And there are people who love that person very much. My choices haven’t always been the best, but they’ve always worked out for the best.”

Her words started to permeate the rest of the team, because they started to pull themselves out of their grief and stand one by one. Their looks of sadness replaced with steely determination and anger.

“This is not possible. This should not be happening!” The Heartbreaker whined.

Oliver laughed at the meta as Barry and Cisco started hauling him away toward the cell.

“It seems you underestimated the strongest superpower among all of us – her brain.” He put his arm around Felicity can kissed her temple.

After the team left to return to the lab to regroup, Oliver and Felicity stayed behind. “You okay?” he asked when she was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Yeah, it was just hard you know, seeing all those choices flash before my eyes.” She looked up at him sadly. “We wasted so much time together, Oliver.”

“We did, but most of that was because of my stupid choices, not yours.” Oliver pulled her in close. “I don’t know why you make the choice to forgive me and put up with me over and over again.”

“Now, those are some of the best choices I’ve ever made.”

He pulled away from her and studied her face. “You made the right choice – you know, in walking away from our engagement the first time. We were not ready and there were definitely a lot of trust issues.”

“I know. I know it was the right choice for us to be apart at the time, but part of me always wondered, what if? Now I know, I guess.”

“But like you said – that was all an illusion. We had so many issues to deal with. If you had stayed I probably would have continued my idiot choices.”

Felicity laughed.

“I’m really glad you didn’t get whammied by that guy.” She hugged him again.

“SO MANY bad choices, and nowhere near the amazing brainpower as you.” He kissed her head again. “Come on, superhero, let’s get home so I can show you my appreciation for saving the day.”

Felicity laughed as she followed him out of the room. Saying yes a second time to marrying this man was definitely one of the best choices she had ever made.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay - I want to say before anyone writes me a hate message - I am not in any way indicating in this story that I think any of Felicity's choices are bad. The point I was trying to get across was that even if we make the right choices, we are often plagued with "what ifs." I love Felicity Smoak, she is one of my favorite characters of all time and I was just trying to show some of her internal struggle.


End file.
